


Together, We're Home

by rattlemeoldbones



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alchemy, Alternate Universe - Western, Asexual Character, Child Abandonment, Gen, Implied Murder, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Magic, Not Beta Read, Wounds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25284436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rattlemeoldbones/pseuds/rattlemeoldbones
Summary: Gotta give credit where credit is due. Thanks to Silverskye13 for not only making a BANGER of a western au (seriously go read it), but also getting me so invested I've made my own with the same cast as A Year Every Minute/Undertale. This features my own little spin on my story if it would happen more in a western setting. You don't have to have read AYEM to get any of this, but I am using my same characterization of Gaster in this, so... expect a sad man adopting two kids who help him learn the POWER OF LOVE.Also at least one (1) explosion.This won't be nearly as long as AYEM was, but I have the general idea of where I want it to go and how it ends, so... let's hope I get enough time to finish it.Enjoy!
Relationships: Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel Dreemurr (Minor), W. D. Gaster & Papyrus & Sans
Comments: 31
Kudos: 57





	1. By Chance

He didn’t have blood pumping through his veins, he didn’t even have veins to begin with, but damned if the magic coursing through him wasn’t letting him forget the huge gash in his head with every step of his horse.

The world was a blur and Gaster didn’t much care to look at it as he rode along. He didn’t even know where he was going anymore other than it being further out West. Anywhere but East. East was where his past lie, and he wanted nothing more than to get as far away from that as he could.

The sun beat down on him and Daisy, although he was lucky enough not to feel anything like blistering or sunburn. Daisy wasn’t so lucky, she needed to rest and get something to drink, that was the only reason he looked up when he did and managed to see a small blur in the horizon. He wasn’t sure if it was the heat or his head spinning that was making it ripple like waves on a pond, but nevertheless he started his way towards it. Best case scenario it would have supplies and somewhere to rest. Worst case scenario some old woman would pop out just to yell at him before filling him with lead.

Hah. Now that would be a funny ending to this story, wouldn’t it? Gaster found himself smiling bitterly at the thought of falling off Daisy and turning into dust in the dirt after coming this far. He found he didn’t much care if it did end that way.

As he drew closer it appeared he lucked out. It was a small homestead, although looked to be in a pretty poor state. He lead Daisy around towards the small stable and she stopped at the watering trough, eagerly gulping down what little remained in it despite how stagnant and warm it might have been. Water was water.

He swung off his horse and tried to stand, but his legs gave out and he crumpled into the dirt beside Daisy’s hooves with a grunt. There was a horrible pain in his bones that movement only made worse. It took him a moment of breathing in and out of his nose before he found it in him to pull himself up and lean against his horse. He gave her a pat on the neck and closed his eyes as she drank, trying to will himself into movement for her sake more than anything else. After a few long minutes he finally willed up the energy to step away and start looking around.

There was a place for her to rest, hay for her to eat, half a bushel of grain. It was looking like a pretty nice setup by the time he rounded to the front door. It was hanging slightly ajar, blowing back and forth with the stiff, hot breeze. Though as banged up as he was, he still had the sense to step aside and knock before tapping it open the rest of the way to peer inside.

It wasn’t anything remarkable. A simple homestead with a hearth, table, and chairs. There was only one separate room which he assumed to be a bedroom, and while it looked like things hadn’t been touched in a few weeks it didn’t look particularly lived in either. There was dirt and sand blown in from the door and windows, and there hadn’t been a fire made in the past few days at the very least.

He stepped in and went for the bedroom doorway, peeking inside and seeing it was empty just as the main living quarters.

It was like finding gold.

As much as he wanted to collapse on the floor and sleep for a week, he turned and went back outside to give Daisy the much needed attention she deserved. She was the only thing he had now, and during all his years she was the one constant, the one thing he could rely on.

Maybe that was why he hadn’t keeled over dead. His horse needed him.

A dry scoff left his mouth at that thought. He really was so pathetic it was funny.

By the time he managed to get Daisy well cared for the sun was starting to set. Gaster limped his way back into the house and pushed the door closed, setting a chair against it for good measure. He dug around until he found a lantern and some matches, then set about looking for anything worth salvaging.

He found some old bread and pulled off the moldy pieces, some dry beans and raisins. There wasn’t much food left. By the looks of things animals had started to dig into them.

After forcing himself to eat what he could he moved to the bedroom to see if maybe he could get some decent rest for the first time in weeks.

… It wasn’t until he set the lantern on the small bedside table that he noticed it wasn’t just dirt littering the bedsheets.

It was dust. Monster dust.

Monster dust wasn’t like dirt or sand. It was fine and had the tendency to cling to anything it touched, as if the monster it had belonged to was still desperately clinging to whatever life around them it could.

He moved the blankets back to see the perfect form of a monster. A head, legs, and arms. A nightgown laid among it as if whoever it had been just… fell apart in their sleep. He sighed and set the blanket back.

There was no way he was going to sleep in a bed full of monster dust. He was already covered in some of the stuff, half of it his own. He could feel it cling to the spaces between his joints and it was still staining the edges of his duster.

“HNNHH!”

Before he even knew what it was he had heard, Gaster was spinning around and pulling magic into his hands. Purple magic coalesced into the double barrel of his gun, pointing its two open maws full of teeth at a pile of blankets tossed in the corner.

It moaned again and shifted, a moment later the rags falling away to reveal a tiny skeleton.

The tension in his face twitched, and he realized how much it was hurting the right side of his head. Was he seeing things? Surely this was the world’s cruel joke. He had finally gone mad. There was no way that-

Then there was crying, and he realized it wasn’t just  _ one _ little skeleton, but  _ two _ . A child clutching onto an infant as it wiggled and cried. The one holding it looked at the intruder with wide eye sockets, and after a moment Gaster realized he was staring down the barrel of his gun.

… There was a tense few seconds where he stood as still as a statue, his brain unable to make heads or tails of the scene in front of him. Eventually though he lowered his magic, his gun turning into glittering purple sand as it dissipated in his hands and vanished before touching the floor. He looked back at the bed and suddenly it was all made clear.

He…

This…

…

He couldn’t deal with this.

Gaster looked back at the children huddled in the corner of the room before very abruptly turning and leaving. He went right to the pile of food he had gathered from around the house and grabbed the bag of raisins he was saving for tomorrow, turning and tossing them so they would land in the bedroom without having to go back inside himself.

He gathered what pillows and blankets he could from the main living space, laid them on the hard floor, and settled in quickly, like if he did it fast enough it would mean getting to sleep faster. He even took off his hat and laid it squarely over his face, like that would somehow help.

… In the bedroom he could hear a pair of little feet walk across the boards to pick up the raisins, then the silence that followed as the baby was fed and started to settle.

Gaster was thankful his wounds and the sheer exhaustion he was experiencing allowed him to fall asleep as quickly as he did.

…

When morning came, it came too quickly. Too hot. Too loud.

His skull was still throbbing.

He groaned and reached up to feel along the makeshift bandage he had wrapped around his skull. He could tell just by the feel that it was still dusting a little.

Ugh.

Gaster pushed himself up and sat in his poor excuse for a bed for a few more moments before finally willing himself to stand and start making breakfast. He made coffee and ate more of the bread before the events of last night finally crept back into his mind.

Stars. Had that been a nightmare? Had he been hallucinating?

He stood up and walked to the bedroom, only needing to peek in to see the two little skeletons still sat on their patch of bedsheets, the older one holding his sleeping brother and barely awake himself.

Gaster quickly ducked out before he was noticed.

Fuck.

_ Fuck. _

He stood in the center of the main living area for much longer than he intended just… not doing or even thinking about anything, then he grabbed the rest of the bread and tossed it in front of the two skeletons before starting to gather up what he had been able to find.

He did so quickly despite the ache in his bones. He needed to go. He needed to keep moving.

Gaster walked outside and tended to Daisy, making sure she had plenty to eat and drink before tying on his satchel and leading her out towards the front.

…

…..

He told himself not to turn around. Don’t do it.  _ Don’t. _

…

But he did.

Gaster turned and looked at the tiny homestead, and some deep memory flung him back to when he was just a little boy. He remembered running up to the house in bare feet. His mother standing in the doorway smiling and smelling like fruit jam. His father around back napping in the hay and the way his rough fingers ruffled his skull.

…

Gaster walked back inside, this time much slower and more deliberate. When he came to stand in front of the two little skeletons he really must have been a sight, wrapped up and covered in dirt and monster dust. The little one was obliviously munching away at the stale bread, but the older of the two just looked up at him as though he had already come to terms with whatever it was that was about to happen.

… When Gaster offered a hand down to him, he looked a little shocked.

A tiny hand reached up the rest of the way, and Gaster took hold of it before bending down with a painful grunt and lifting the two up against his chest. He walked out of the house and didn’t look back, going to Daisy and silently apologizing for adding more weight to her haul.

The two little ones were set at the front of the saddle before Gaster pulled himself up the rest of the way, unable to help the gasp that came from his mouth as his wounded shoulder pulled a little too hard. After a moment of catching his breath he turned Daisy away from the homestead and started off.

Further out West.


	2. Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster makes a pitstop.

Suddenly time meant something. Before it hadn't really mattered how long he rode, at least not to him. It mattered for Daisy's sake, but he didn't weigh that much, and as long as he stopped enough for her to rest and get what she needed they could ride for days without having to stop too often. The two kids didn’t add much weight either, but now one tended to get fussy and while they other hadn’t said a word, it was plain to see to anyone with a brain that he needed to stretch his legs and eat just like anyone else.

He stopped more often, grumbling quietly to himself about how it was mighty annoying, but grumbling was all he ever did. They stopped for a rest in the afternoon and earlier to set up a makeshift camp, the kids sleeping on blankets he had brought with him while he parked himself against a tree and relied on Daisy to wake him if anything happened.

But nothing ever did.

They spent two days like that, riding during the early morning and late afternoon before happening on a small town along a wagon trail, a small river winding beside it. It was a good thing too, they had run out of food yesterday, even with Gaster not taking any for himself.

They must have made quite the scene riding in, a dust-coated monster with one good eye and two little kids still in stripes looking like they had been through hell.

Gaster hitched Daisy outside the saloon and pulled himself off with a grunt, at least able to keep on his feet now. He reached up and lifted the two babybones from the saddle, setting the eldest down on his feet still holding his little brother. The kid had barely let him go in all the days they were together so far.

He pushed open the door, the little one stepping on ahead of him and nearly running up to the bar despite not being able to climb up on one of the stools. It didn't stop him from trying anyway, still clutching his brother.

Gaster on the other hand leaned against the bar and dug in his pockets for the little gold he had left, dumping it on the counter and then flicking away the pebbles that had managed to squirrel their way among them. It was only then that he glanced up at the bartender, a smartly dressed fire monster with a pair of spectacles resting on his face.

"Th-" Gaster choked out, having to cough and try again. He hadn't spoken a word in days. "This enough for food 'n a room? Maybe a bath?"

The bartender looked down at the gold and slid it into his hand. "... Room and a bath... Food's on me…"

Gaster raised a brow, "Catch?"

"... Kids eat free…"

Gaster blinked and looked down at the two kids.

Ah.

"... 'preciate it," he grunted before pushing off the bar and making his way to a table.

He collapsed in a chair and watched the kid totter over and struggle to climb into the one across from him while still holding his brother. Gaster sighed and pushed himself up, walking over and lifting the little one into the seat before turning and collapsing in his own again.

The bar itself was sparsely populated for this time of day. There were only a few patrons about, and all of them had given Gaster at least one wary glance. When he caught others looking at him he did his best to appear threatening, narrowing his eye and maintaining eye contact until they looked away.

Good.

They just needed to eat and rest a day or two before being on the move again.

… ‘ _ They _ ’?

Ugh.

Gaster rubbed his head. He couldn’t keep letting these two kids tag along, they needed to  _ go _ . Maybe he could find someone willing to take in a few extra mouths to feed if they looked pathetic enough.

Before he could ruminate on it too long the barkeep approached them with their food; a sliced sausage with some cheese and bread cut up into small pieces to make it easier for the kids to eat. He set it down in front of them, Gaster making a noncommittal ‘thank you’ noise.

For a moment he watched the kid stand up in his chair and start grabbing off the plate, feeding tiny pieces to his little brother and only taking for himself once he knew the infant was chewing. Gaster watched them for a bit before his attention drifted to somewhere in the middle distance.

After their (much needed) bath it would probably be late enough to go to sleep. Tomorrow he could go around asking about anyone willing to take the brats. Maybe he could find a few odd jobs for spare gold. If not he would just head out the following day. And if no one wanted the kids maybe he could just leave them. No good folk would let them go hungry, and how the barkeep let them eat for free he didn’t think there were  _ bad _ folk around here.

Gaster was pulled out of his daze when something nudged his elbow. He looked down and saw the kid had pushed the platter of food towards him, about half eaten between them.

He glanced over, the infant happily making noise and looking like it was about to fall asleep and the eldest searching Gaster’s face for… something. He didn’t know what.

After a moment he mumbled out another ‘thank you’ as best he could manage and ate whatever remained. It hit his nonexistent stomach like a rock. Going a few days without food and then eating something so heavy was bound to make him feel a bit ill. He could tell it was cooked with magic though, which would definitely help him heal and feel better in the long run, so it would be worth the temporary discomfort.

With the meal polished off it was time for a much needed bath. For all of them.

The bartender had left the key for their room and bath with their dinner, and Gaster eagerly grabbed it before standing up and starting to leave. He paused just a moment so he could watch the kid climb down from the chair, then walked on ahead.

He opened up the bathing room and waited for the little ones to get inside before closing and locking the door.

Last thing he wanted was someone barging in with his pants down.

Gaster turned and looked down at the little ones, already pulling off his hat and setting it on the coat rack. “You gonna be wantin’ a bath? Could use one. You ‘n the little one.”

Skeletons in general didn’t get as dirty as a lot of monsters, but that wasn’t to say they didn’t need bathing at all. Riding for days on end would get you covered in dirt and sand in your joints no matter how well you took care of yourself, and Gaster had already been covered in dust and dirt  _ before _ finding these two.

The little skeleton walked up to the bath and looked down into the steaming water, but didn’t appear to be too sure if that’s what he wanted to do.

“Suit yerself,” Gaster shrugged and started to get undressed.

He peeled off his duster with a few painful grunts and stiff movements, hanging it up with his hat before sitting on the edge of the tub to pull off his boots and then start work on his shirt.

Now  _ that _ was a bitch to get off.

Gaster sucked in through his teeth as he angled his arm in a way it just didn’t want to go in, the little skeleton looking up at him as the shirt peeled off and dust fell away to the floor. There was a small crack in his shoulder bone from a blow he had gotten over a week ago that had started to heal a few times before his movement only made worse. Lifting up a pair of kids hadn’t helped matters. There was a mirror in the bathing room that he used to turn and look at it, but other than a disapproving look that was all he could do about it.

It was his head wound that he was hesitant to look at, but… it had to happen sooner or later. He couldn’t just keep his head wrapped up in an old scarf for the rest of his life.

Taking a breath he started to unwind the fabric, dust falling out of it and onto the floor. He grimaced watching it, afraid to look ahead at the mirror but forcing himself to anyway.

It wasn’t… as bad as it  _ felt _ , which was a blessing, but it did still look pretty bad. There was a large crack running up his right eye, tapering off the further away it crawled from his eye socket.

He tried to open his eye but it didn’t seem to want to respond. When he touched it it felt numb. He used his fingers to lift his eye open, but his eyelight didn’t appear like it should have.

Something hard sank to the bottom of where his stomach would be, and it wasn’t the food.

When he closed his left eye he couldn’t see anything. Even waving his hand in front of his right eye as he held it open still gave him nothing but black. No movement or color or anything.

Fuck.

Gaster dropped his hands and leaned against the vanity, looking down at his dirty palms.

“... What happened?”

The tiny, scratchy voice behind him made Gaster jump a little, and he turned to look at the kid who had been watching him this whole time. It was the first time a word had been said between them.

Gaster had to clear his throat and rub his jaw before he was able to respond. Talking had never been his strong suit, not to people he didn’t trust anyway.

“Just made some folks mad. That’s all.”

Not wanting to wait for more questions he started to pull off his trousers.

Normally he wouldn’t dare get ‘naked’ in front of anyone, despite it being pretty common for monsters to do without clothing, but seeing as how it was just a pair of babybones it felt a little safer. He couldn’t imagine being stabbed in the back by a toddler.

He climbed into the tub of warm, soapy water and sighed in relief. It felt welcome on his aching bones. The little one was still stood beside the tub, watching.

“... If y’aint gonna get in then don’t stare.” Gaster grumbled, and the kid let go of the edge of the tub.

He waffled a bit before finally setting down his sibling and yanking off the striped shirt over his head, leaning down to unwrap his brother before trying to climb in. Gaster sighed watching him try and do apparently  _ everything _ one-handed, and reached out to take the infant so he could crawl in.

“Now don’t go splashin’ around. This is to get  _ clean _ , not playtime.” Gaster said as he handed the infant back to his brother.

The older one nodded and sat down, back turned to Gaster. The baby instantly started to giggle and splash the water.

Gaster just sighed and sank further into the tub. He was too tired to actually get mad.

The three of them cleaned off, or at least Gaster did while letting the two kids splash around in the soapy water. He wasn’t about to instruct them on how to properly clean their bones themselves, he wasn’t their  _ parent _ . Just being in the water would be enough to get them at least a little clean.

When he was done he climbed out and dried off, handing a towel down to the kid to do the same with himself and his little brother. The eldest couldn’t be any older than five or so, but Gaster had to admit he seemed to know most of the basics when it came to caring for himself and his brother.

He supposed that was probably something gained through necessity. There was no telling just how long their parent had fallen down. It could have been right after the second was born, which would have meant the eldest had been taking care of him from the start.

Gaster closed his eye and started to shake the dust off his clothes to get dressed. He didn’t want to think about that.

He picked up his boots and waited for the kid to get ready before unlocking the door and heading to their room. It was down a long, narrow hallway and up a set of stairs in the back of the saloon. They passed the barkeep and Gaster gave him a nod before heading up the steps.

… He was halfway up before turning around and noticing the kid struggling to climb them while still holding his brother.

Gaster sighed.

His boots were shifted to his bad arm and he walked back down, lifting them both up and into his chest before turning and walking back up the steps to get some much needed sleep.

...

The fire lingered just a moment in the hallway silently before turning to head back to the bar.

By now it was bustling. The sun had set and everyone in town was eager to take a load off their aching feet (or paws) and enjoy a cold drink with good company.

The town itself wasn’t particularly big, and most of its citizens happened to be monsters with the stray human here and there. There was the saloon, the general store, the tiny schoolhouse for the youngsters, but most of the town was residential. They were lucky enough to sit nestled on the bend of a river, which meant it was a welcome stop for anyone traveling further out West.

Most of their disturbances were from folk passing through. They didn’t have a sheriff to speak of, able to take care of themselves without needing to resort to any appointed law enforcement. And seeing as how one of the founders and benefactors of the town was a huge boss monster, anyone who came through looking for trouble didn’t last very long.

Asgore and Toriel Dreemurr lived just on the outside of town in the biggest house, although it wasn’t to flaunt their wealth. They were such a large pair that it  _ needed _ to be that big just to house the two of them. There were even a few special chairs in the saloon made big enough for them to sit in.

The pair were in their usual spot, chatting to the other residents as the bartender stepped back into position serving drinks. Toriel was the one to nudge her partner and get his attention before gesturing towards the bar to let Asgore know he had returned.

Asgore looked over at where she was pointing before excusing himself from the others around him and walking up to the bar.

“I see there’s a new horse tied out front,” he said, pulling over one of the larger stools to sit himself down. “You happen to know who it belongs to, Grillby?”

The flame nodded, filled up a glass for a patron, and slid it down their way before turning his attention on the boss monster. “... Skeleton monster rode in this afternoon… Looked a bit tore up… Had a pair of kids with ‘im…”

His voice crackled like fire as he spoke, rising and falling with each sentence like it was squeezed out of his mouth with hot air. “... Paid for a room ‘n bath…”

Asgore’s face went a little tense as soon as he had mentioned children, and Grillby was quick to add so as to not ignite what could sometimes be a hot temper; “... Kids looked fine… just rugged… gave ‘em a free meal…”

The boss monster breathed outward and rubbed his mane. “He say his name? Or where they were headed?”

Grillby shook his head. “... Barely said more than a few words… Don’t think he’s got much gold on him…”

“Might be lookin’ for work,” Asgore said, picking up on what Grillby was hinting at. “Think he’s the type to be trusted?”

Grillby hesitated at that. His own background wasn’t exactly clean, he had fought and worked with crooked people before settling down here and could tell when a monster had been in the life of an outlaw. They just got a look about them, and you could feel the level of violence they were capable of dishing out.

“... Maybe…” Grillby finally settled with. It was hard to tell. The feelings he got from the guy were rather conflicting. The skeleton was capable of great violence, had taken life before, but at the same time he had watched him let a pair of kids eat first and carried them up to bed. He would be a hypocrite if he just assumed the guy wasn’t capable of compassion despite how rough around the edges he looked.

It had been strange, in a way. Sad.

“... For what it’s worth… the kids are treated well… from what I saw…”

Maybe not in the lovey-dovey way, but their needs were met. Sometimes that was all you could do.

“... Well,” Asgore said after a beat. “If we can help it we can’t just let a pair of little ones go starving. I’ll be here tomorrow to talk with him.”

Grillby nodded and Asgore drummed on the bar with his claws before turning to go back to Toriel, who was on her second glass already looking rather flush in the fur and laughing so loudly it was turning into snorting.

Asgore would keep the conversation about kids to himself for tonight. No need to get Toriel worried when there was nothing to be done just yet.

…

The following morning Gaster woke up slowly. His body still had a persistent ache, but he didn’t wake up with his skull throbbing, so that was nice. He shifted to get up when he felt something warm and hard against his leg that made his spine go tense before he looked down.

The two skeletons were curled up by his feet, a blanket curled around them like a little ball.

He sighed and set his head back down against the pillow.

It took another few minutes for him to finally swing his legs off and pull on his boots. The dust-covered scarf he had been using as a head wrap was reapplied for now and his hat put back in place to keep it there. Even if it wasn’t dusting anymore, he didn’t really want dirt blowing in it.

By the time he was ready the kids were starting to stir, or at least the younger one was. As soon as it started to fuss the older one moved and tried to get himself up, rubbing his eye sockets.

Gaster watched them for a moment. He had played with the thought of just leaving them in the room and making a break for it, but now that they were up…

“... Hungry?” He asked, and when the kid nodded he motioned for him to grab his brother and get up.

They left the room, Gaster once again halfway walking down the stairs before he realized the kid was lagging behind and backtracking to pick him up and carry him the rest of the way. This time however, he simply carried him out to the saloon and sat them down at a table before going over to the bar.

Grillby was nowhere in sight, but just as he found the service bell the fire walked out from the back.

“Ah… kids still eat free?” Gaster asked, pointing a thumb towards the two babybones.

Grillby looked over at them and nodded before turning to leave, Gaster giving a quiet ‘thanks’ in reply. Rather than go and wait with them at the table though, he turned to head outside.

As soon as he got to the door there was a clatter and something tugged on his pant leg. Gaster stopped and looked down, the older kid grabbing hold of his trousers in tiny hands. His eye sockets were wide, the lights inside them bright and scared. He had even left his little brother on the chair to make sure he caught up with him in time.

Gaster’s face twitched and his insides twisted.

“... M’just goin’ out to take care of Daisy. Go sit. Barkeep’ll come give you two breakfast.”

The kid didn’t budge.

Gaster sighed and looked up at the brim of his hat as though it would somehow hold all the secrets to parenthood.

Not that he was a parent. Not that he wanted to be.

“I’ll be back. Swear it.” He said, looking down at the kid and  _ trying _ to look earnest. In reality he probably just looked tired.

It worked though, the kid slowly letting go of his pant leg and letting him leave.

Once he was outside Gaster rubbed the bridge of his nose. Before noon and already he could use a drink. He turned and started to walk towards where he had hitched up Daisy the night before only to see one  _ helluva _ boss monster sitting on the porch.

Gaster tried to very calmly and  _ pointedly _ ignore him while getting to Daisy.

Stars above there was no way he could take a boss monster in a fight. Maybe he would have to bail on the kids after all, especially if this guy owned the town and saw fit he didn’t like the look of him.

Gaster started to make sure Daisy was fed and watered, but the boss monster wasted no time in addressing him. At least he didn’t  _ jump _ , despite how rigid his spine got.

“Headin’ off already?”

“... Might do,” Gaster said without turning around.

“Ahh, shame. I’ve been lookin’ for some help around here.” Asgore said, shifting as though to stand up and leave.

Gaster didn’t say anything at first, but… damn. He did need gold. This was probably a racket, but… gift horse and all that.

He turned, then realized he had to turn further around to actually see the guy.

Getting used to only having one eye would take some time.

“What kinda help?”

“Well,” Asgore said, standing to his full height. “What skills do ya have?”

Gaster blinked, because he had to actually think about that. ‘Shooting and murder’ wasn’t exactly something one would write on their resume, but it had been so long since he had done anything else…

“Alchemy,” he finally said.

Now it was Asgore’s turn to blink. Alchemy wasn’t something you just picked up and put down. Making sense of mixing monster magic with human medicine or technology was a hard art to get into, it was something you’d pay to go to school for or get in through an apprenticeship. And Gaster did not look like the type to walk around carrying books and spend long nights studying by candlelight.

“Alchemy?” Asgore finally said, having a hard time believing it. If this guy was telling the truth having an alchemist around would be invaluable. Normally monsters who grew sick had to travel into the next town over to see a doctor if their ills couldn’t be cured with regular healing magic. Not to mention all the other non-medical applications alchemy could bring to the table.

“... S’what I said,” Gaster mumbled as he turned back towards his horse.

“What’s your name, fella?”

Now there were a lot of things he could have said in hindsight, any sort of name he could have taken, but there was something inside him that was incapable of lying about his roots. He thought about his parents, the name they gave him, and how it had been used against him for so many years.

But even if it was the death of him, he just didn’t have the heart to throw the only thing he had left of them away.

He turned back to the boss monster.

“Gaster.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much like AYEM I'm making up my own brand of bullshit to explain how magic works or doesn't work, so just go with it. 👍


	3. Gonna Be Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster demonstrates some of his skills.

A short conversation later and somehow Asgore had convinced Gaster to walk with him to a man’s house who had fallen and suffered a nasty gash in his leg. They were human by what Asgore was telling him, which meant that magic all on its own wouldn’t do much good, and when a town was primarily monsters that was about all they had in terms of healing.

When it came to healing humans things got more complicated. They were made more physical than monsters were; knitting together with meat and bone and blood. Gaster had a decent enough understanding on how they were put together, hopefully it would impress Asgore enough to uphold his end of the bargain. That being a paid room and supplies if he could get the guy off his deathbed.

They approached a modest little home, Asgore’s bulk completely blocking the doorway as he knocked and talked to someone on the other side. A moment later and he was squeezing himself thru, Gaster stepping in after looking like a twig by comparison.

Inside was dim, curtains drawn and a fire smoldering on the hearth.

Right away he could tell whatever ill the man was in, it was bad. Humans would get infections… and they tended to stink.

Someone was speaking to him and it took Gaster a moment to turn his head and look at the worried man stood by the door. “Hm?”

“I asked if you was a doctor,” he said again, and Gaster just looked away and towards the bed against the wall.

“As close to one as you’re gonna get seems like.”

The man looked even more worried as Gaster approached the figure laid up in bed, leaning over to peer down at them. It was another man, sweating and shaking with the chills.

“Where’s the wound?” Gaster asked, and his partner walked over to pull down the sheets and expose a nasty gash in his knee.

Asgore was the one to flinch out of the two of them, covering his nose with a paw.

Gaster looked at it before walking over to one of the windows and pushing the curtains aside to let in more light and get a better look at it.

It was festering alright.

“I need a mortar ‘n pestle, a candle, matches, the cleanest rag ya got, and hot water.” Gaster said before turning to leave.

“Hey wait-” The man started, stopping when Gaster turned back to look at him.

“I gotta go get somethin’. Be back in a few.”

And then he was gone, leaving Asgore and the human men to look at one another in confusion before going about retrieving the supplies.

Roughly ten minutes later Gaster walked back in without a word and got to work, the supplies set out on a table in the center of the room. He pulled some yellow flowers out of his pockets and put them in the mortar, crushing them up before taking the candle and lighting it so he could drip the wax into the flowers, then he added some water and mixed it all together. Asgore and the man watched him without saying anything either, both a bit perplexed.

“You gotta cup?” Gaster asked, looking at the human stood beside the bed. They waffled for a second before reaching for a tin cup and handing it over.

Gaster pulled a few green leaves from another pocket and put them in the cup before pouring more hot water over them.

Asgore walked over to look down into the mortar. “... It seems like you’ve done this before.”

“Here ‘n there.” Gaster said, testing the salve inside the mortar before mixing it around. He smoothed the top out before drawing in it with his finger. “You got green magic?”

“Hm?” Asgore blinked, then frowned. “Oh. No. Afraid not.”

Gaster mumbled a little, putting his hand over the mortar. His eye light flickered before glowing purple, then returned to normal. The trick to alchemy was knowing what runes to use with what medium, and then channeling your own magic into that medium to make them more effective or to do what you wanted. For things like salves, something humans tended to need more often than monsters, using a ‘strength’ or ‘power’ rune and channeling your magic into it made it more potent. Making the medicine’s properties stronger was the way around human’s inability to absorb magic as easily. Then the trick to  _ that _ was making sure you didn’t make it so potent that it poisoned them, as some remedies were prone to doing. It took a lot of book work to know which rune for what medium and how much magic to add for a certain outcome, and not that many people were privileged enough to have access to those books, let alone know how to read them.

Gaster carried the mortar over to the bed. “Might wanna hold ‘im down. I ain’t gentle.”

The man turned a little white but walked over to his partner and sat down, holding his shoulders still while Gaster started to apply the salve to the wound. He had to get as much as deep as he could for it to be of any help, which meant pushing into an already tender area. It wasn’t pleasant for either of them, but by the end of it the wound was covered and Gaster took the clean rag to lay over it.

He then very quickly washed his hand in the hot water that was left.

Humans were gross. So many  _ fluids _ .

“Here,” he said, handing the cup over to the man. “Make ‘im drink this. It’ll bring down his fever. Don’t keep him all covered like that, you’ll just make it worse.”

The man took the cup. “But he said he was cold.”

“You a doctor now? Do what I say or next thing I’ll be back here to do is cut that whole leg off.” He gestured towards it. “The salve’ll pull up all the bad in the cut. In two days take off the rag and wipe it all out. Clean it with water. If it takes he should start feelin’ better by tomorrow.”

Gaster looked at Asgore as if to say ‘that all?’, then turned and headed for the door.

He could really use a drink or a cigarette right now. Maybe he could convince Asgore to add booze money to the tab he was apparently making.

A moment later and Asgore was squeezing himself out through the door and bidding the two men farewell, casting a look at Gaster before gesturing for him to follow back towards the center of town.

“... I’ll hold to my word. For your efforts consider your room and supplies paid for.”

Gaster mumbled noncommittally just to show he had heard without having to use actual words.

“You know, we could use someone with talent like yours in this town. It would be good for your little ones too. To put down some roots.”

“They ain’t mine.”

“Pardon?” Asgore frowned, hoping he misheard.

“They ain’t mine,” Gaster repeated. He didn’t look up at Asgore, not wanting to see whatever emotions were playing over his face. “Found ‘em about two, three days ride from here. Parent was dust in their bed.”

“Goodness…” Asgore sighed, not looking forward to telling that little tidbit to Toriel.

“Was plannin’ on dropping ‘em off here before I left.” Gaster said, tilting his head upward to see Asgore from around the brim of his hat. “You know anyone willin’ to take a coupla mouths to feed?”

“Hmm… I can ask around,” Asgore rubbed his mane in thought.

It was late in the afternoon by the time they arrived back at the saloon and Gaster was eager to find out if alcohol counted as a ‘supply’ Asgore was willing to pay for as he opened the door. Toriel was there, sat at one of the tables with the two little ones across from her, the eldest clinging to his brother like he always did as he cried up a storm. It was too loud. Gaster wanted nothing more than to just turn around and walk right back out.

Before he could do much of anything but make a face though, the eldest spotted him and scrambled off the chair with his brother. He crashed into Gaster’s legs and clung on for dear life.

Gaster looked down at them, unable to hide just how  _ confused  _ he was, then up at Toriel like she would have the answer.

… It dawned on him that he had told the kids he would be right back, then ended up gone half the day.

Whoops.

He slowly lowered his arms when he realized they had been raised to try and fend off his ‘attackers’ and looked back down at the kids. When the older one looked up at him he was crying now too, magic leaking from his eye sockets.

“... Seems they’re a bit attached to you,” Asgore said, unable to hide a little of the affection in his voice.

Gaster looked up at him like he wanted to set him on fire.

He stood there for an awkward few moments, part of him wanting to shoo the kid off his leg and another wanting to just start walking forward to bowl them both over.

But he did neither of those things.

Instead he leaned down and picked the two up, the eldest instantly wrapping an arm around Gaster’s neck. Toriel said something to him as he passed her on the way towards the back, but he didn’t hear what she said through the crying beside where his ears would be. He didn’t stop moving until he was back in his room, setting the two kids on the bed and looking down at them.

He wasn’t sure if he was mad or not. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling.

“You got no sense gettin’ attached to me.” Gaster hissed out, and the kid looked up at him sniffling and a little confused. “I’m just some random monster that come strollin’ along and found you by chance. You got no idea what kinda person I am. I was gonna give you to someone else, y’know. You and your little one.” He pointed at them, and that was enough to make the kid’s face scrunch up and start crying all over again. Gaster rubbed his face and took off his hat.

“... Stop. Stop, stop! Stop the cryin’!” Gaster yelled, the kid sucking in air through his teeth and trying to get himself to stop.

It failed pretty miserably.

“I ain’t no dad. I’m not fit to be any sorta parent. You’d be better off with  _ anyone _ but me. You’re only attached ‘cause I’m the only one ya got, but you could have someone better. Hell, near anyone’d be better.” He gestured to himself as if though that would prove his point.

The two still didn’t stop crying.

Gaster started to pace.

He wasn’t cut out for this at all. This was precisely why he couldn’t care for these two. All they were doing was crying and he couldn’t even handle  _ that _ .

“Alright, alright, alright,” Gaster stopped pacing and waved his hands before rubbing his temples. “Let’s make a deal. I stick with you two until we find someone to take ya, alright? I’ll stay until then. Until ya get a better home. That’s fair, right?”

The older one slowed his crying a little, but did eventually nod and wiped at his face with his sleeve.

Gaster sighed and collapsed on the bed beside them, an arm draped over his face. Slowly the crying stopped, the infant growing quiet too now that he saw his sibling was feeling better.

“... I’m Sans,” the oldest one said in that small, scratchy voice. Gaster moved his arm to look at them with his good eye. “This is Papyrus,” he gestured to the babybones.

Gaster watched them for a moment before he extended his hand for a handshake. “Gaster.”

Sans smiled a bit and took Gaster’s hand in his, giving it a little shake.

There was a heavy knock at the door.

“Gaster?” Asgore’s voice boomed from the other side. “Everything alright in there?”

Gaster sighed and stood up, walking over to the door and opening it so Asgore could see the kids were fine. He hadn’t hit them or dusted them or anything,  _ see _ ? He was being  _ good _ .

(Not that he would ever hurt a kid, damn.)

“Yeah. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have enough of a buffer to say that new chapters should be released every Wednesday for the next few weeks! Subject to change if I fall behind, but that's what I'm going for until this is finished.


	4. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster gets a push in the right direction.

The next few days were rather uneventful when one considered everything the three had been through before. Gaster spent most of his days doing odd jobs around town; helping repair fences or move hay. On one occasion a monster walked up to him and asked him if he was ‘the doctor who had fixed James’ leg’, and even though he insisted he was no doctor, that didn’t stop her from asking him for a remedy for a rash she was getting that was causing her fur to fall out in patches.

He stumbled over a price for it when he had finished making it, which she was more than happy to pay. Gaster was making enough to start buying supplies for when he rode out and then some, which meant he could spend a night down in the saloon, nestled in a corner by himself nursing a stiff drink.

That was where the little ones spent a lot of their time, either in their room, sat at a table, or sitting outside during the cooler parts of the day watching the world go by. Grillby made sure they got plenty to eat between them, and Toriel had been back every day to try and talk to them. She never got very far though, despite her best efforts. Sans tended not to talk much at all, and when it came to letting anyone else hold Papyrus he would refuse. She did manage to get them to take a new set of stripes to wear at least.

It was a quiet sunset on the second day when Gaster found himself sat beside the kids on the front porch of the saloon with a beer in hand. He had checked on the human he had helped, James, who was doing well, then spent the rest of the day helping one of the farmers near the outside of town set fence posts. He was tired and hot by the end of it.

“... That Toriel lady’s been around talkin’ to you I’ve seen.” Gaster said, leaning back and looking at Sans. Grillby had given him some hard candy to suck on, and right now Papyrus was fast asleep on the porch beside him after a heavy dinner. When Sans didn’t say anything he kept talking. “She’d be a nice mom to have. They could provide everythin’ for you two.”

Sans turned and gave him an annoyed look, like he knew that was exactly where this was going.

“What? I ain’t wrong.” Gaster said.

Sans shook his head.

“No? Why not?”

“... She babies us.” Sans grumbled from around his candy.

Now at that, Gaster had to laugh. It was louder than he intended and made Sans jump, but it felt good to laugh after so long. “I hate to break it to you kid, but you _are_ a baby.”

Sans frowned, “Then how come you don’t baby us?”

… Well. He had him there.

Gaster’s laugh tapered off. “‘Cause I’m not good with kids?”

“You been good to us.”

“Nah,” Gaster waved his beer in the air. “I’ve given you _the basic_ -”

“You coulda left us. Nothin’ made you take us with you.” Sans said, and Gaster raised the ridge of his brow. Now that the kid was talking more than two words, he realized Sans spoke a lot better than he expected.

“... How old’r you?”

“Six goin’ on seven.” Sans said, and Gaster looked surprised.

“Shit. Thought you were younger.”

Sans just rolled his eyelights. “‘M small for my age. Always have been.”

“... Huh…” Gaster drank from his beer and looked up at the sky, some of the stars obscured by the growing light coming from the saloon windows behind them. They sat like that for a while longer, Gaster finishing his beer and setting the warm glass down beside him.

“Still stand by what I said. Toriel’d make a good caregiver for you.” He looked at Sans. “Think about it, at least.”

He stood and gestured for them to follow. “C’mon. You two should get to bed. S’gonna get all rowdy out here in a bit I wager.”

Sans huffed and stood up before picking up his brother and following Gaster inside the back way, avoiding the growing bustle at the bar. Only once they were headed up the steps did Gaster doubleback and make his way into the saloon for a night of drinking he had felt he rightly earned.

He parked himself at the end of the bar by the wall and gestured to Grillby for a drink. It wasn’t as busy as it had been before, but this was still definitely the place where nearly the entire town gathered to cool off after a hard day of work, whether they planned on drinking or not.

After the first round James’ partner found him and quietly thanked him again for saving his husband from a slow, agonizing end. Gaster wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just nodded and accepted a drink from him.

Pat was his name, apparently. He talked about how they had stumbled on this town years ago and decided to settle down, how James had a passion for making jam out of the berries that grew by the river, and how Gaster would be the first one to get a jar of this year’s batch if he decided to stick around.

He listened, but he must have been unable to fake interest well enough, because Pat didn’t stay long. He thanked him again before leaving to go talk to some of the other folk around the bar.

Gaster was starting to think about taking his drinking outside when his peace was interrupted for a second time. This time Toriel pulled up one of the larger stools to sit beside him. “Hello, Gaster.”

He did his best not to sigh and gave the boss monster a nod.

“How are the little ones?”

“Good ‘nuff I s’pose.” He shrugged and drank more.

“... I have been speaking with Asgore about the possibility of taking them in.” Toriel said after a beat, and was a little shocked when Gaster huffed out a bit of a laugh.

“Yeah. I been talkin’ to them about livin’ with you too.”

“Oh?” Toriel raised a brow.

“Yeah,” Gaster said again. “You ‘n Asgore have all yer ducks in a row. You obviously care about ‘em. Ya ain’t goin’ anywhere. You’d be the best to care for ‘em.” He turned and looked at her. “Kid ain’t about it though.”

Toriel sighed, “That is the same impression I got. Did he say why?”

Gaster just shrugged. “Dunno,” he lied, and he wasn’t quite sure _why_ he lied. Maybe a part of him didn’t want Toriel taking the kids in either, but he didn’t want to face that thought.

The boss monster hummed. “Sometimes children do not know what is best for them.”

Gaster huffed, “You got that right. Anyway-” he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I told ‘em I’d stick around till someone took ‘em in. So you got awhile to win ‘em over I guess.”

For some reason the room was suddenly too loud, too hot, and the people around him were too much. There was something twisting inside his ribcage that made it hard to breathe and something hard sitting in his stomach churning in circles. He waved for Grillby to pass him one of the bottles and a glass. “S’cuz me.”

He took his drink and stepped around Toriel, heading out towards the stables.

Maybe it was pathetic to prefer drinking with his horse, but a lot of times Daisy was the only one he felt like he could talk to without judgment. She always listened. Always knew when to nudge him. Always got him through the worst situations. She was happily eating some hay when he walked up to the dark stall and leaned against it.

Despite how unsettling a skeleton could look in the dark with their white bones and glowing eyes, Daisy just huffed and kept on eating.

“Yeah I know. Bailin’ out on socials again to hang out with you.” He poured himself a drink and threw it back with all the intention of getting completely shitfaced.

“Somethin’ is wrong with me. I don’t know what to do.” He set the glass aside, deciding to just drink straight from the bottle. Daisy bumped his face with her snout. He reached up to pet her, slumping forward and leaning what he could against her face through the stall.

“M’I s’posed to just keep runnin’ forever? You’d hate that.”

Daisy chuffed in agreement.

“Can’t stay here forever though. I can’t.”

He went quiet, like he was waiting for Daisy to give him a reason why he was wrong. To give him a reason that he deserved to have a normal life despite the things he had done and the past he had lived, but Daisy stayed silent, letting her rider lean against her head and breath slowly in and out before taking another heavy drink.

…

The sun woke him up rather rudely shining in through the cracks in the stable and hitting him right in the face.

Gaster groaned and shielded his eyes, shifting a little and realizing he had at some point during the night got into the stall with Daisy and ended up crashed on the floor with all the hay by her hooves.

“Uggghhh…” he wiped his hands down his face and struggled to pull himself to his feet, feeling like shit warmed over. It was hot and muggy and his head was pounding. He wobbled on his feet and peered between his fingers at Daisy, frowning. “Why’d you let me drink so much?”

Daisy turned and looked at him before blowing air in his face.

Gaster made a disgruntled noise and started to stumble out of the stall. “That’s fair.”

He made his way back to the saloon and tripped through the door to see that Sans and Papyrus were already sat at one of the tables after eating breakfast. Sans looked relieved to see him, even if Gaster tumbled his way to the bar rather than over to them. He leaned against it and flicked some hay from his shirt before pulling off the scarf around his head to drop on the bar. It was too muggy and his head was swimming too much to keep it on.

Grillby walked up to him with the same expression he always wore, nonjudgmental and slightly disinterested, even if that wasn’t at all what he was feeling.

“Whatever you got that’ll help this hangover,” Gaster said before adding; “please.”

Grillby nodded and stepped into the back.

Gaster had a few cures of his own, but right now the last thing he wanted to do was wander around outside looking for ingredients, so a heavy meal and something to drink would have to do.

“Where were you?”

He blinked and peered over his shoulder at Sans stood beside him, brother in his arms like always.

Gaster looked at the hay sticking out of his shirt. “Out bein’ a bad influence.”

Sans looked unimpressed. “You smell.”

Gaster just grinned. He would have laughed if his head didn’t hurt so much. “I sure do, kid.”

Maybe it was time for some new clothes. Would help blending in a little better.

After a heavy breakfast thanks to Grillby he was feeling much better and decided that new clothes was going to be the task of the day. Sans decided to follow him, Papyrus in his arms. They were halfway across the street when Gaster glanced back at him and sighed.

“Watchin’ you carry him everywhere is gonna drive me nuts.” He crouched down and offered a hand out to take Papyrus.

Sans handed him over after giving him a bit of a confused look.

“Look, here-” Gaster brought Sans closer and used the blanket Papyrus was carried in to wrap it around the both of them and then tie it so Sans had his arms free while still keeping Papyrus close. Then he instructed him how to tie it on his own.

“There, see? Just don’t go fallin’ over on ‘im and you’ll be a lot better off.”

Sans blinked and looked down at Papyrus wrapped against him, then up at Gaster with stars in his eyes like he had just opened up a whole new world.

Gaster was suddenly very uncomfortable. “No. No? Quit that look. Go back to Grillby’s.” He shooed the kid away and kept on going forward.

“No,” Sans grinned, trotting after him much faster now that his arms were free. “Ms. Toriel’ll probably be there soon. I don’t wanna have to listen to her tell me how much better off we’ll be with her.”

“Even if she’s right?” Gaster asked.

“Even if she’s right,” Sans said. “I might be a kid but I got the right to choose don’t I?”

Gaster stopped and turned to look down at him, Sans nearly running into the back of his legs. “That ain’t fair. You’re makin’ this needlessly difficult. You don’t need to _like_ the person takin’ care of you.”

“No, but it helps.” Sans said. “‘N I like you.”

Now _that_ made Gaster laugh. It sounded a little hysterical. “You ain’t got the slightest idea what kinda person I am.”

“Yeah I do,” Sans said, following again once Gaster started walking. “‘N I think you should stay here. With me ‘n Pap. The town likes you too. Even if you’re weird.”

Gaster looked over his shoulder at the kid.

“What? You’re weird. And smelly.”

“Yeah, well… let’s at least fix one of those things.” Gaster said as he stepped off the street and into the general store.

...

Despite his best efforts not to get too friendly with the locals, a number of them continued coming to him to help fix their problems. The problem in question could range from fixing a fence and wrangling cattle to wounds and rashes. No one claimed he was a particular sunny individual, and definitely not a people-person, but no one could doubt that no matter what task he was given he did a good job from start to finish with no complaint. Occasionally he would even find a better way of doing it and tell them so, and the way he said it wasn’t condescending like one might expect.

The nights where Gaster chose to drink at the bar were getting increasingly social too. He never sought out company, but occasionally Asgore would invite him to the table with Toriel and himself, or one of the locals would convince him to join for a game of cards or darts. Gaster was never the life of the party, he often would stay quiet and watch, and sometimes even excuse himself early, but he was far from the crooked, mean, evil outlaw that his overall appearance made him out to be.

It had been nearly a week since he had stopped in with the kids, and he knew things were dragging on too long. Something had to give one way or another. That night it was Toriel who came to him at the bar, settling beside him at what had turned into his usual spot at the very end by the wall.

(It wasn’t good that he was developing ‘a usual spot’.)

“How are you, Gaster?” She asked, huge paws folding together on top of the bar. Gaster just shrugged and finished chewing his food.

“Well ‘nuff.”

She hummed and gestured for Grillby to get her something to drink. “I have been speaking with the little ones nearly every day now, and it does not seem like I am able to convince them to come live with us.”

Gaster’s chewing grew a little slower.

“I think, maybe, should you decide to stay, it would be in the boy’s best interest if they were with you. And should you need any help, know that Asgore and I will be there.” She looked down at him. He had turned away by that point, forcing himself to swallow the food that had turned into paste behind his teeth, sticking like tar. Toriel didn’t wait for him to say anything to continue. “And both of us feel like you would do wonderfully here. The townspeople are much better off with someone of your talents around.”

She paused then, waiting. It had been a week of getting to know this stranger to see that he wasn’t some rough and tumble outlaw ready to stir up trouble. He wasn’t that unlike Sans and Papyrus. Alone. Lost. Not having anyone or anything to his name. Toriel didn’t know his past, but she could see he needed help too. Just not in quite the same way as Sans and Papyrus did.

He looked to truly enjoy the kid’s company and to help those around him, even if he might gripe about it or grumble under his breath here and there. There wasn’t any real maliciousness in him, despite his level of violence.

Toriel felt he just needed someone to tell him it was okay to rely on others. To have somewhere warm and welcoming to call home.

It felt like maybe he hadn’t had one of those in a long time.

“Just know,” she said, raising a paw and placing it gently on Gaster’s shoulder. He twitched and turned to look up at her, and even though it wasn’t _fear_ exactly in his eye, there was something about it that broke her heart. She lowered her paw.

“Just know,” she repeated, “that we welcome you here.” Toriel started to stand and leave. “If you decide to stay.”

Gaster watched her turn and head back to Asgore with her drink, his eye losing focus somewhere in the middle distance. He sat like that for longer than he intended before looking back at his half-finished plate of food.

Suddenly the thought of eating made him want to throw up.

He took his beer and left, first as though he was going outside, but then he changed course. He turned and walked up the stairs to his room instead.

Gaster opened the door quietly and peered inside at the two kids fast asleep on top of the sheets. He realized he hadn’t even asked for another room for them. They had just shared the same bed this whole time and he didn’t even think to split up.

It had been the best sleep he’d gotten in a long time, having someone else there that you knew wouldn’t kill you in your sleep. That had no plans of abandoning you.

Slowly he walked inside, shutting the door behind him. He kicked off his boots as silently as he could and sat down on the edge of the bed. Slouched over and beer dangling from his fingers between his knees, he watched the two kids sleep soundly despite the heat. Sans was sprawled in all directions, his shirt riding up high on his ribs with his baby brother tucked by his side.

Gaster watched them for a long while, long enough for his beer to grow hot, daring to play with the notion that maybe, just maybe, Toriel was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly not edited as much as I'd like, I'm without power at the time of releasing this chapter and doing so from my friend's house. Hopefully it reads well enough! If you catch anything please let me know and I'll get it fixed.


	5. Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster silently decides to adopt the boys.
> 
> The Dreemurrs silently decide to adopt Gaster.

Gaster never came out and said ‘I’m staying’, not even to himself. The thought of saying it aloud made it too real, which meant it was something that could be taken away from him. If he didn’t acknowledge that he was okay with the thought of settling down, that meant he still had options. He could still leave without getting attached.

(He was perhaps the only one in town who insisted he wasn’t attached.)

Before he knew it the days were blending together into weeks. The cash he made from odd jobs and treatments for the townsfolk was either spent on food and lodgings, or saved up and wrapped in one of his old shirts tucked away in one of their drawers. The only ones who ever saw him tuck money away were Sans and Papyrus, and neither ever said anything about it, but for Gaster it was nice to have a stash should anything go wrong.

Something for emergencies. Or if he had to run.

Summer turned into autumn, which turned a lot of his odd jobs into helping with harvesting. Pat stayed true to his word and handed him a whole basket of jams when James had finished them. It sat on the vanity, being snacked on by the kids whenever they craved something sweet.

That was something that crept up on him, referring to Sans and Papyrus as ‘the kids’. He only caught himself saying it aloud a few times, but he thought it a lot. Not  _ his _ kids, but ‘the kids’. 

That already was dangerously attached.

He never did ask for their rooms to be split up either. The one bedroom they shared slowly accumulated more and more things to make it ‘theirs’. Someone made a doll for Papyrus that he would play with occasionally, Sans was given shoes (although he much preferred running around barefoot), and the scarf Gaster had used to cover up his eye ended up hung with his duster on the coat rack, unused for now.

It still took him a long time to warm up to people, but he did start to talk more as he got comfortable. Gaster would never be a chatterbox, and he rarely carried a conversation, but when invited into a game of cards or to have a drink he would occasionally add his two cents if he had anything to say. Occasionally he would still leave early, whether it was to drink peacefully outside on his own or to go to his room and sit with the kids while they slept.

He wasn’t sure why he enjoyed doing that. You would think watching the sky while two kids snored behind you was boring, but there was a peacefulness to it that Gaster liked.

(It was also just nice to know that the kids were safe.)

… And while Gaster might not have ever verbally announced he was planning to stay, plenty of townsfolk came to the realization of that all on their own. The Dreemurrs were the first. 

Asgore and Toriel were likely in on it from the start. At first Asgore had thought having a doctor around would benefit all of them, but as the days drew on it had been Toriel to notice that Gaster would benefit from having a home, he just needed someone to convince him of it.

It was late autumn when most of the harvesting had finished and everyone was starting to prepare for winter that the Dreemurr’s invited Gaster and the boys over for dinner one evening. They had all been living off saloon food for the past few months and could use a home-cooked meal. Not that Grillby was anything but an amazing cook but, well… you should only eat sausage and beans so many times.

They all washed up before heading over, Gaster carrying Papyrus in his arm and ignoring just how much he was squirming and whining to get free. After learning how to crawl he had been very adamant in getting  _ himself _ where he wanted to go, even if that meant crawling through the dirt in clean clothes.

“This some kinda ploy to get me to stay with them?” Sans asked as they approached the huge door.

“I doubt it,” Gaster said, not wanting to admit that he had silently decided to keep the kids. He figured the Dreemurrs picked up on that too, what with Toriel laying off on her chats to Sans a little bit. She still checked in frequently and hovered some, but it was nothing Gaster found obnoxious. It was nice to have someone to fall back on who had a better idea of what they were doing should anything go wrong.

Sans seemed to be the only one not fully convinced Gaster wouldn’t bail on him at any moment. If Gaster hadn’t seen their parent dusted himself, he probably would have thought Sans a little dull around the edges for not picking it up. But when you lost the most important person in your life like that it left you a little wary to trust again.

He knew all about that, unfortunately.

“Just be polite. They ain’t gonna yank you ‘n Pap away, they just want to feed ya.” Gaster said as he knocked, trying to right Papyrus up again who was trying his very best to backflip out of Gaster’s arm, gravity be damned.

Asgore answered a moment later, smiling. “Ah, Gaster, boys, come on in.”

He stepped aside and it was clear the house had been built for a pair of boss monsters. The ceilings were high and a lot of things like chairs and tables were scaled up just a little to make life easier for monsters twice the size of the average human (or skeleton monster). Sans wasted no time at all in squeezing around Gaster’s legs to start looking around the house.

Gaster cleared his throat, a little embarrassed but unwilling to say so or tell Sans to come back. It was almost as if being around monsters ‘more capable’ of parenthood than him made him a little ashamed to make more of an effort. Talking already was hard enough, but being authoritative in a subject he felt he had no idea about?

“Thanks for havin’ us,” he managed to choke out as he removed his hat.

“The pleasure’s all ours,” Asgore said. “Would you like some tea?”

Gaster was about to open his mouth and politely decline, but Sans cut him off by loudly announcing; “S’like one of them fun houses!” at the enlarged furniture and vanishing through a doorway.

He sighed as Asgore chuckled and motioned for him to follow into the living room.

Sans was busy climbing up on all the furniture as Gaster took one of the smaller seats, setting Papyrus on the ground so he could finally fulfill his dreams of crawling into hard to reach spaces. He shot off on his hands and knees to where Sans was trying to climb onto a big chair. Gaster must have looked a little overwhelmed, because Asgore just laughed again as he poured them both some tea.

“Don’t worry about them. It’s nice to have some bustle in the house for once. Toriel is just finishing up dinner, it should be ready soon.” He handed over a cup of tea that was just a little too large.

Gaster didn’t have the heart to tell him he really, really didn’t want to drink it. Tea was one of those few things he remembered vividly from his childhood. No one made tea quite like his mother had. He settled to holding it in his hands to help warm up his knuckles from the chill of the autumn wind outside.

“The little ones seem to be doing well,” Asgore said as he took his own cup of tea and sat back in one of the chairs that Sans  _ wasn’t _ trying to climb all over. Gaster hummed in agreement but otherwise wasn’t really sure what to say. He liked the Dreemurrs, but had never been the smalltalk sort, and now he didn’t even have the ability to bail on conversation like he could at the saloon.

“Toriel and I have been playing with the idea of having a child of our own sometime.” Asgore said, which did finally make Gaster look over at him.

“Bit of a commitment ain’t it?” He asked, and wasn’t talking about having to raise them for life. Monsters didn’t age until they decided to pass their magic over onto another, so having children was essentially a death sentence. Giving over half of yourself like that was a very big deal.

Gaster had never worried about that himself. He had never loved anyone in the way to want to have children with them, and he knew he never would. It wasn’t that he didn’t  _ love _ , but it wasn’t the type of love that ended in childbirth. Nothing had ever been more than platonic to him, and he knew it never would be.

(Loving Sans and Papyrus had been the first time he opened up to it since his parents. He didn’t think he could love anyone differently than that.)

“Yes, well… we’ve both lived long lives already. Perhaps in a few more years the time will be right. It’s still just an idea.” Asgore said, sipping his tea.

Gaster just looked down into his own cup. He didn’t want to think about the idea of Asgore and Toriel dying. He liked them for the most part, and right now they were still the cushion he had to fall back on should the need arise to run off. Knowing they were around to take in Sans and Papyrus (despite whether the two kids liked it or not), brought him a lot of comfort.

“Not a fan?”

Gaster was snapped out of his thoughts. He blinked and made a ‘hm?’ noise.

“The tea? You haven’t touched it. It’s alright if you don’t like it.” Asgore said, although couldn’t help but look a little down about it.

“Oh,” Gaster looked at his cup, but he still couldn’t bring himself to touch it. “Can’t say I am, no.”

Not entirely true, but… good enough.

He was thankful when Toriel appeared in the doorway. “Gaster, hello dear. Dinner is all ready.”

Asgore got up just as Toriel left, and Gaster was left to grab Papyrus by the back of his shirt and lift him out from the table he had crawled under while Sans half fell from one of the chairs. He just shook his head and walked into the dining room.

Kids.

There was enough food on the table to last them a week, and thankfully it was all set low enough that Gaster wouldn’t have to climb onto his seat. He helped Sans up onto one of the chairs first, grabbing the back of his shirt and lifting him into it before sitting down beside him with Papyrus in his lap.

There was meat and vegetables abound, and something inside Gaster’s chest tightened at the sight of a home cooked meal around a table with a family.

He had to take a breath through his nose and blink a few times to get himself to focus. Thankfully Papyrus reaching for a hot piece of meat was enough to get him out of his funk and quickly grab his hand to stop him. Papyrus immediately started to whine.

“Stars, give me a minute,” Gaster sighed, picking up his fork to stab a cooked potato and guide it to the little one’s mouth. Sans was already digging in.

“I hope you like it,” Toriel said, and started to go through everything she had made. Cooked hen, some venison, stewed potatoes and carrots-- Gaster didn’t catch most of it as he did his best to keep Papyrus eating and from grabbing anything too hot for his hands.

“Is’good,” Sans said through a full mouth.

Gaster finally got to taste some himself once Papyrus had calmed down a little, and he could tell it was made using magic. It hit him in the soul a little hard, but he did his best to swallow and act normal. It would be ridiculous to get emotional over something as simple as food. He couldn’t manage to say anything, but he did hum and nod in agreement with Sans and hoped that was enough.

“Papyrus seems to like it too.” Asgore smiled, watching the babybones clack his teeth while trying to chew some meat.

“I am a little surprised to see you the one feeding him,” Toriel said. “It is so rare for Sans to let him go!”

“I trust G.” Sans said after swallowing his mouthful.

“Poor decision,” Gaster grumbled and reached for his drink.

“Oh now, don’t say that,” Asgore chuckled. “From what I’ve seen you’re doing rather well. Wouldn’t you say Toriel?”

“Yes I think so too.” She grinned, and Gaster was very thankful that he couldn’t blush. Instead he settled for giving the two boss monsters a scathing look.

The conversation drifted away from him, thankfully, and onto the goings on of the town itself. The harvest was nearly over and the first chill of the winter season would be coming soon. There were still things to prepare before then; wood to chop and walls to be mended.

Since Asgore and Toriel were more or less working in the position of mayor, all of the news went through them, and Gaster had found himself one or two steps below that simply because of how many people he had worked for by this point. Nearly everyone had hired him for help in some fashion or another, whether it was mending fences or curing ailments. As much as he hated the limelight, Gaster had very quickly turned into a face that everyone in town recognized.

And it wasn’t just because he only had one good eye to his name these days.

When dinner wrapped up the kids were both delighted to dive into the pie Toriel had made, and it was then that even Gaster had to admit it was  _ very _ good. Both kids were a mess by the time they were finished, and without even thinking Gaster was wiping their hands and faces with a rag to get them at least a little clean.

(If Asgore and Toriel gave him any endearing looks he pointedly ignored them.)

It was dark by the time they retired to the living area again, the warm fire and full stomachs quickly putting both of the kids to sleep. Papyrus lay in Gaster’s lap while Sans leaned against his side, asleep after fighting against it as the adults talked.

“Have you thought about moving out of the saloon?” Asgore asked, voice quiet so as to not wake the kids.

Gaster looked over at them, then down at the drink he was still nursing. “... I’ve given it some thought,” he admitted. All of that money he had saved up would be put to good use making a house for himself and the boys, but that was still… it was a commitment. He could still run whenever he wanted, but building a house...

“I could help you get some plans going,” Asgore offered. “Built this house with my own two paws, after all.” He grinned and held out his massive, clawed hands. “Could use the front for your practice, get you plenty of storage for all those herbs and whatnot you need, then livin’ space in the back.”

Gaster must have looked a little daunted, because Toriel spoke up next. “It will make things much easier for you and the little ones,” she said. “As intimidating as it might be to make something so permanent, perhaps it will be exactly what you need.”

He had never really come out and said that he had trouble with commitment or staying put, but someway or another it was obvious enough to Toriel that she tended to know exactly what to say exactly when he needed it to soothe any worries. Gaster guessed it was just something that mother-types excelled at doing. She did put him at ease an awful lot, much like his mother had for him back when he was young.

Just these days his worries were a lot different.

Gaster sighed, “I s’pose all that cash I got sittin’ around is just gonna collect dust otherwise.”

The two boss monsters grinned at one another, like they had just won the long con they had been running from the start.

“We can start come spring. It’ll give us all somethin’ to look forward to through this long winter.” Asgore said.

...

Not much longer after that did Gaster finally decide to call it a night. It was well past the kid’s usual bedtime and he still had a decent walk back to the saloon. Not to mention he now had to carry two babybones.

In hindsight he probably should have brought Daisy.

After making sure both kids were dressed warm enough he picked them up and thanked the Dreemurrs for dinner before heading out. It was dark, but he could see well enough from the nearly full moon in the sky, and he knew where he was headed. The bar was still warm and brightly lit against the dark backdrop of the town.

Gaster looked down at the two kids in his arms, their stomachs full and their heads hopefully filled with happy dreams rather than nightmares of what they had been through before he had stumbled upon them.

He wasn’t the praying type, but in that moment he hoped to any and all higher power that the two in his care would never have to suffer like that again. That every night would be like this, with warm food around people that cared about them.

That was all he wanted now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I have fully finished, so the usual Wednesday update might not happen from here on out. I'm still hoping to keep it that way, but I lost my power for like 3 days so it set me back a bit.


	6. Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans gets sick.
> 
> Gaster makes a worrying discovery.

Dinner with the Dreemurrs became a weekly affair before Gaster even realized. Every Sunday they would invite him and the boys over to eat and talk about what was going on in the town or what needed to be done.

Or, well, should weather permit they make their way over.

Autumn grew into winter, which meant blisteringly cold days, strong winds, and heavy snow. Some monsters were more acclimated to the cold than others, which meant that Gaster was making more house calls than usual. The humans weren’t well-adapted to it either, more prone to runny noses and coughs than they were in the summer. He was cursing himself for not stocking up on supplies when he could… but then again he hadn’t exactly thought he’d still be around by this point.

The saloon’s bustle died down quite a bit too. Not only were the townsfolk unwilling or unable to leave their homes some days, but travellers coming through to stop at the river and renew supplies had all but completely stopped.

Gaster, Grillby, and the boys were often the only ones in the saloon, and with the amount of snow outside Gaster often took it upon himself to help the fire monster out with moving supplies or shoveling the entryway. On more than one occasion Grillby suffered from clumps of snow falling on his arms or shoulders, searing him through his clothes, and Gaster had run to his aide.

Dealing with healing fire elementals was easier, but more dangerous. They ran so hot inside that no bacteria could ever grow, which meant no infections, but at the same time you couldn’t wrap their wounds with bandages because they would burn right through. The only real solution was to clog the openings with something that had a hard time burning like dirt, and waiting for the wound to patch itself.

Thankfully they took to healing magic like a duck to water, so whatever wound might have befell them usually healed in a matter of hours.

He had never really considered Grillby as someone to fall back on when it came to having help raise the kids, but during the winter he was proving invaluable. Gaster was so often pushing himself out into the snow to get to someone, or to check up on a patient he had seen a few days prior, that the kids were left in Grillby’s care on a daily basis. Sans could take care of himself, but Papyrus was getting more and more mobile by the day, and the little guy  _ really _ enjoyed getting himself into hard to reach places. On more than one occasion Gaster had come back to the saloon to see Papyrus sat in Grillby’s lap asleep, and the flame teaching Sans a card game.

(Sans would later attribute his aptitude in card games to long winters stuck inside with Grillby.)

By the middle of winter Gaster was running low on supplies, which meant that he had to either barter with some of the townsfolk if they happened to have anything he needed, or try his best to stretch things out if it was something that couldn’t be found until spring or summer.

So of course that was when Sans would get sick.

It started with a cough and sniffly nose one day just after they had gotten to the dining area for breakfast, and even though Sans insisted he was fine, just a little tired, Gaster gave Grillby a look, who then turned right around to go into the back and start making some soup.

There was little Gaster could do right away. Maybe having something warm in him would help, but when it came to treating him it would need to wait. He was gone most of the day, the snow piled high, and even with Daisy’s help it took some time to get from house to house checking on his patients. The longer the winter lasted, the more and more monsters and human folk got sick.

It was dark by the time he got back to the saloon, which wasn’t too surprising. The sun set early, and he had to rest multiple times at different houses to warm both himself and Daisy up to keep on going. When he walked in it was just Grillby and Papyrus there to greet him.

Grillby stopped sweeping and looked over at him, the look on Gaster’s face after scanning the room enough to make Grillby speak up without being prompted.

“... Sans is in bed… slept most of the day…”

“He getting worse?” Gaster asked, and Grillby just nodded.

“Shit.”

Gaster kicked the snow from his boots and left his hat and scarf by the door as he rushed to their room.

He entered quietly, only a small portion of Sans’ skull viewable from the ball of blankets on the bed. He tended to the fire first, stoking it to keep the room warm before sitting on the edge of the bed and placing a hand over the lump beneath the covers. “Sans? I need you to wake up for me.”

Sans grumbled and peeked half of his face out from the blankets. There were dark rings under his eye sockets and around his nose and eyes magical discharge was leaking out, bright blue with tinges of yellow.

“How you feelin’?” Gaster asked, and Sans just closed his eyes again.

“Poop.”

He couldn’t help but huff a laugh out of his nose. “Can ya be a little more specific?” he asked while coaxing the blankets back despite the kid’s efforts to stay balled up underneath them.

“Achin’,” he grumbled before his tiny body was wracked in a cough.

It looked just like a normal cold, which wasn’t too concerning on its own, but Sans was just a kid and he shouldn’t have gotten  _ this _ sick  _ this _ fast.

“... Can you show me your soul?” Gaster asked, lifting Sans’ shirt up to expose his ribcage.

Showing someone your soul as a monster wasn’t to be taken lightly. If anything happened to it, it would mean grievous injury or death. Usually it wasn’t something Gaster asked unless necessary, or with children so he could get a proper read on what state their overall health was. From what he understood it was a little similar to asking humans to drop trou. It left them vulnerable… if in a less lethal way.

But Sans didn’t hesitate when Gaster asked. With all the trust of a child he pulled his soul forth and let it sit just behind his ribs. Gaster reached for it with his magic and held onto it, feeling it with his senses to make sure it was a proper size and shape, and that the amount of magic inside it was enough to keep Sans’ body running properly.

It felt… too small, even for Sans’ age and size.

Too weak. Too fragile.

Suddenly the quick onset of his illness, his small stature, the amount he slept and got out of breath, it all made sense.

Sans was running on a permanent low battery.

Something hard sank into the pit of Gaster’s stomach, but he did his best not to show it on his face, even if Sans was mostly not paying attention.

“... I’m gonna feed some magic into you directly. Tell me when it feels like too much.”

Gaster’s hand and eye started to glow as he fed Sans’ soul some of his own magic. He had always had plenty to spare so--

Sans grumbled and made a face, “Stop.”

Gaster stopped after he had barely started and withdrew his magic.

He felt sick and wondered if this was a condition his parent had too. If this was why they--

He reached up and pulled Sans’ shirt back down. “You can put your soul away.”

Sans did so, the light fading behind his ribcage. Gaster pulled the blankets up over him again. “Just get as much sleep as ya need.”

Once Sans was tucked in Gaster walked over to his dwindling supplies and started to search for everything he needed.

A clove of garlic. Some coneflower root.

When he finally found his jar of honey it was empty.

Gaster cursed under his breath and took his supplies back into the dining area, crushing up the garlic and root before putting them in the empty honey jar with warm water and shaking it around, hoping he could at least get a little of it left. He gave it a small boost with his magic and then let it steep as he walked back to Sans.

A heavy dose with a large boost wouldn’t do anything for him, not with his magic cap. Sans would need multiple doses multiple times a day to help combat his cold rather than just a few here and there like everyone else.

Which meant he needed more honey.

“Sit up for me, then I promise I’ll stop buggin’ ya.” Gaster said, sitting down beside Sans and shaking up the jar again before taking off the lid. He helped Sans sit up and then held the jar to his mouth.

“Augh, ew, it stinks.” Sans tried to push it away.

“I know. I’m missin’ a few ingredients. You’re just gonna have to force it down for now.”

“No way, I’d rather be sick.” Sans started to lay back down, but Gaster kept him propped up.

“No, no, we ain’t doin’ that. You drink this and how about I get some of that chocolate bar I stashed away? I’ll give ya a whole piece.”

Sans squinted up at Gaster and stared at him for a moment before mumbling and reaching for the jar. He forced it down with Gaster’s help, gagging afterward.

“Good job,” Gaster grinned and got up, digging into the little stash of sweets he kept high up and snapping off a piece of chocolate to give to Sans. “Now get back to sleep. I’ll bring you something better to drink in a little while.”

Sans ate the chocolate and laid back down. By the time his head hit the pillow he was fast asleep.

Gaster watched him for a moment. Every time he blinked he could see dust in the shape of a monster laying between the bedsheets.

He shook his head and left.

Tomorrow he would have to ride from door to door looking for more honey, and hoping they would be willing to part with it.

Gaster didn’t say anything to Grillby when he came back out, just quietly picked up Papyrus asleep by the fire and took him back to bed before coming back out and helping himself to a little something to drink. By the time he was putting the bottle back Grillby had reappeared from the kitchen, setting a bowl of soup in front of him. Gaster just gave him a look.

“... Can’t have you getting sick too…”

“Not really hungry,” Gaster said, lifting his glass. Before he could drink any of the liquid inside the top burst into flames. He glared at Grillby, who for once looked like he was smirking a little. Gaster sighed and set the glass down, which promptly extinguished itself. “That ain’t fair.”

Grillby wiped down a spoon and set it by the bowl. As Gaster started to eat he lingered rather than walk away, which was the equivalent of asking what was wrong.

“... I’m out of honey, which is what I need for Sans. Gonna have to ride all over tomorrow lookin’ for some,” Gaster sighed. Grillby started to tidy up around him, but stayed close just in case Gaster wanted to continue, which he did. Grillby was easy to talk to. He stirred his soup a little more and forced himself to keep eating.

“I took a look at his soul. He got real sick real fast, y’know? And he’s weak. Not just cause he’s sick, but… he was born weak. Barely a reserve pool in him. Only got what keeps him ticking and little else. I can’t just boost him up and let things take. There’s nothin’  _ to _ boost.”

“I keep thinkin’ about his parent. What if they had the same problem? Dusted from just  _ livin’. _ Or got a cut and it just never healed. What if they fell apart ‘cause they got sick and--”

“Gaster.” Grillby said suddenly, yanking him from his spiral downward. Gaster looked up at him, the flame flickering as it peaked on Grillby’s head and at his elbows where his sleeves were rolled up. It was calming to look at, even if behind it there was enough power to level the entire town.

“... Sorry,” Gaster sighed and ate more soup. “Get caught in my head sometimes.”

“... You do…” Grillby said, the rag he had been using flung over his shoulder as he crossed his arms. “... You’ll find what you need tomorrow… I’ll keep an eye on Sans…”

Gaster nodded and went quiet, eating his soup slowly as Grillby finally turned and started to straighten up some of the bottles behind him and take stock of what they had left to get them through the rest of the winter.

“...Grillby?” Gaster asked suddenly, the flame turning to look at him. “What made you settle down?”

It was never spoken between them, but both knew the other had a rough past. Most of the townsfolk probably already knew that too just by the look of them, but it wasn’t considered polite to dredge up someone’s old life.

It took Grillby some time to answer, long enough that Gaster was about to open his mouth and apologize for even asking.

“... My daughter…”

Gaster looked surprised. Grillby had never mentioned having kids, but when he gave it some thought it made sense. He cared for Sans and Papyrus an awful lot for a stranger, and had a silent way with kids.

(It wasn’t too dissimilar to his own way with children. Maybe that was one of the reasons why they got along so well.)

“... She lives in the city… with her mother…” He finished drying up a glass and set it down. “... Didn’t want my life catching up to them… This is my way of providing…”

Gaster listened, then nodded. The saloon probably made plenty, so sending money back their way undoubtedly helped out a lot. He tipped the bowl back to his mouth, finishing the soup Grillby had forced on him. Before he could open his mouth to say anything else Grillby continued; “... If your past catches up to you… know the folk here will do all they can to make sure the boys stay safe…”

The light of Gaster’s eye met Grillby’s, staring into the fiery glow before giving a solemn nod.

He hoped it never came to that.

…

Despite his best efforts Gaster didn’t manage to get much sleep that night. He tried, truly he did, but listening to Sans wheeze and shift around to try and breathe a little better just made his anxiety spike. So instead he found himself sat in front of the fire in the main area long after even Grillby had called it a night. Then, as soon as he knew the rest of the town would start to be waking, he piled on his layers and slogged through the fresh snow to Daisy’s stall.

She was still exhausted from the day before, but all he could hope to do in order to make it up to her was give her a few sugar cubes.

(Daisy happily took the bribe.)

Slogging through the snow was tiring for her, and it was still coming down in fat globs when he arrived at the first house. He knocked and it took a moment or two for the human on the other side to answer the door, opening it only a crack so as to not let out any heat. Unfortunately they didn’t have any honey left, but directed him to someone who might and wished him luck.

It took two more house visits before Gaster finally came upon someone who still had honey left, parting with it with Gaster’s promise to pay them back somehow. He quickly mounted Daisy and rushed off through the growing snow drifts back to the saloon.

After getting Daisy cleaned up and paying her for a job well done with a few more treats, Gaster rushed inside and made up the same concoction he had the night before, only this time with more than just a small flavor of leftover honey. Sans drank it much more readily before going right back to sleep.

He would wake him again that afternoon to drink more, then again around dinner while trying to get him to eat something, but otherwise there was little he could do other than stand around and… wait.

That was what was really killing him, being unable to force Sans’ body to kick the cold itself and get him well again. Even if he  _ had _ healing magic it wouldn’t do any good.

When Gaster wasn’t checking in on him (he couldn’t sit beside him for too long without getting too anxious), he was out in the main area of the saloon helping Grillby or trying to keep Papyrus entertained. Anyone who he had wanted to check up on today would just have to wait until Sans was better, he couldn’t stand the idea of stepping out only for the kid to dust as soon as he left.

(Not that Gaster could do much if he did, but…)

He was sat in front of the fire of the main dining area of the saloon, Papyrus laid on the fur rug in front of it building up and knocking over blocks when he heard the bedroom door open and shut. He turned just in time to see Sans shuffling towards them with blankets around his shoulders.

Gaster lurched in his chair, “Sans, what are you doing up?”

“‘M tired of lyin’ in bed,” he grumbled. “Heh. Tired of bed.”

“Still, you should be sleeping. Walkin’ around ain’t gonna make you better.” Gaster argued, but shut up as soon as Sans didn’t show any sign of stopping at the rug with Papyrus. Instead he walked closer until he was trying to climb up into Gaster’s lap.

He didn’t know what to do at first, but did eventually reach down and help him up. Sans tugged the blankets tighter and leaned against Gaster, eye sockets barely open and staring at the fireplace.

Papyrus, seeing his brother in Gaster’s lap, decided that's what he wanted to do too. He wobbled onto his feet and started to crawl up Gaster’s leg until lifted up into his lap across from Sans.

… It was strange. He had carried and held the boys so many times already, yet there was something much more intimate about them sitting on his lap right now as the snow picked up outside and the magical fire crackled in front of them. Even Papyrus, who was a wiggle worm most of the time, seemed to know how bad his brother was feeling and stayed quiet and still.

He wondered if this was the sort of thing his parents had felt when he was little. Gaster remembered vividly sitting in his dad’s lap while his mother read a story in front of the hearth, the heavy wind battering the shutters of their little farm house…

“You ever hear about the monster and the stars?” Gaster asked, the words just slipping out past his teeth before he could really give it much thought.

Sans looked up at him, “No.”

Gaster smiled, “Well… once upon a time, there was a monster who loved the stars, and swore that one day he would catch one to give to the monster he loved…”


	7. School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go to their first day of school.

It would take two summers of hard work to get their home completed, but by the end of it it was everything Gaster and the kids could ever need.

There were plenty of shelves for storage, their pantry stocked, and even three beds should they ever decide to sleep separate.

(It would take a single argument to get Sans to switch over to his own bed, although when they made up there would be occasions where they would sleep together again. More often than not it would be Gaster crashing into one of their beds after a long day making house calls.)

After they had a home all of them started to feel a little more settled; their lives weren’t held up in the air by uncertainty anymore. Toriel had been right (like she often was), and having the permanency of a home calmed all of them down a little more.

Despite there being a schoolhouse for the kids in town, Sans didn’t show any interest in going and Gaster didn’t make him. On the days where he was gone most of the day Sans would spend all of it watching over his little brother and keeping him entertained. The only rule that Gaster had was to stay in town and not talk to anyone they didn’t know. Outside of that they were left to their own devices, and now Sans wasn’t worried about Gaster running off and leaving them anymore.

During the days when Papyrus was still young, Sans would take him everywhere. Whether he was playing with the other kids in town or stopping by the general store for a snack, there wasn’t anywhere you would see Sans without Papyrus by his side. As Papyrus got older and more independent, Sans hovering so much started to get on his nerves a little bit.

So when he was old enough to finally go to school and  _ Sans _ finally decided to go too, he was… less than overjoyed.

“YOU BETTER NOT EMBARRASS ME!”

Gaster was doing his best to ignore their banter as he pulled Papyrus a little closer to finish buttoning up his dress. “Stop wigglin’.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, bro.” Sans raised his hands in defense of himself, grinning. “Everyone will love you. I’m just gonna be there to make sure they know how cool you are.”

Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets. “THEY’LL BE ABLE TO SEE HOW COOL I AM WITHOUT YOUR HELP, SANS.”

“Foot,” Gaster said, maneuvering around in front of him to shove his foot in one of his shoes and buckle it closed, still ignoring the arguing going over his shoulder.

“You’re right, but can’t I be there to see it?”

“Other foot,” Gaster said, Papyrus shifting on his feet and using a hand to prop himself on Gaster’s shoulder.

“I GUESS SO… JUST DON’T BABY ME IN FRONT OF THE BIG KIDS.”

“Promise,” Sans crossed his fingers over his rib cage where his soul would be.

“Alright,” Gaster stood up when he was finished helping Papyrus get dressed and dug into his pocket for some gold. He had since swapped out his heavy duster for something a little more befitting a doctor, and wore glasses once he realized his vision was never going to get better. “Here’s some gold for a snack after school. Stay in town. If I’m not home by supper get yourselves something at Grillby’s.”

Sans took the gold pieces and looked at Gaster with a smirk. “You say that like we ain’t know all that already.”

“Yeah, well, doesn’t hurt repeating.” Gaster shoved his hands in his pockets. “Now get goin’ or you’re gonna be late. Papyrus, listen to your brother-” Papyrus groaned, “-and neither of you give that poor teacher a reason to send you home early.”

“No promises.”

“NO PROMISES.”

Gaster rolled his eye light and ushered the two of them out, waving as they walked away, Papyrus turning around to wave back. “BYE DAD!”

Once they were out of sight he turned back around to get to work making more supplies. Having a quiet house for once would either be really good for his productivity, or really bad.

Guess he was about to find out.

…

The schoolhouse itself was towards the end of the main road and already bustling with activity by the time Sans and Papyrus arrived. Despite not going before they were already well known by the other kids in town. Sans was generally considered funny and well-liked, and Papyrus was always tagging along with him, so it was a bit of a surprise when Sans was the one tagging along.

“Wow, look who decided to finally come to school!” A pink bird monster chirped as soon as she spotted Sans.

“What can I say?” Sans raised his hands, “My little bro finally convinced me.”

“Finally old enough to come, huh?” An orange fish monster asked, looking down at Papyrus.

“YEAH!” he grinned.

It was then that the teacher, a green and gold dragon, stepped outside and started to ring the bell for everyone to file inside. The swarm of kids that came from every direction was more than Papyrus had ever seen gathered in one spot before. He knew most of them in general by looks at least, but everyone had their own groups they hung out with outside of school, and Papyrus didn’t have that many other kids quite his age. The friends Sans had tended to be his friends too just by proxy, so this was where he really hoped to get out from under his big brother’s shadow and make some new friends of his own.

Inside wasn’t much, tables and chairs with a desk at the front with a blackboard. There weren’t enough kids to separate by age either. During the year the lessons were more personalized, teaching the kids how to read, write, and do basic math with the occasional history and science on the side.

“Nice to see you decided to join us today Sans and Papyrus.” Ms. Farfig smiled, and Papyrus wiggled in his seat with excitement.

The lesson itself varied from student to student. Some had been coming for months or years now, so Ms. Farfig mostly spent the time teaching Sans and Papyrus figuring out where they stood along with everyone else.

She wasn’t sure what to expect. Dr. Gaster was clearly a very intelligent man, but his parenting technique was… unique to put it nicely. There was no telling what his kids did or didn’t know. So she was pleasantly surprised when both of them were capable of reading and counting.

They could spell. Sans could add and subtract. Perhaps their methods weren’t textbook, but both of them knew quite a lot already and mostly just needed refined and given direction.

… Farfig put it in the back of her mind to make a pie and take it over to Gaster for ever doubting him. He had always brushed off letting Sans go to school and she had thought it was him thinking that they didn’t need to learn when clearly he had just… been teaching them himself.

The school day ended in the afternoon, and as soon as Ms. Farfig dismissed the class they were all eager to pile outside and get some playtime in before needing to head back home. Papyrus trailed after Sans as he grouped up with his usual friends, picking a spot in the shade to talk.

Papyrus didn’t want to just stick with Sans though. School was his chance to make his  _ own _ friends, to get out from under his big brother’s shadow. He looked around at all the other kids as they made their own groups and figured out what they were going to play. One of the kids was a blue fish monster, and already she was climbing a few overturned crates and picking out teams for a game. He couldn’t make out what she was saying, but she definitely looked cool.

So when she summoned a bright blue arrow and started to use it to point at the others his eye sockets got even bigger.

Now  _ that _ was cool.

He turned and started to run over.

“Pap, hey, woah, where ya goin’?” Sans called after him.

“I’M GONNA GO PLAY WITH HER!” He pointed at the growing group of kids.

Sans knew who Undyne was, but they never really hung out. She was full of energy and boisterous, and they just didn’t really mesh well. She was also older than even him, so he didn’t think she would want a babybones like Papyrus butting into her game. He tried hard not to make a face. “I dunno if she’s gonna play with you, you’re kinda little.”

Papyrus glared at him, “I’M NOT LITTLE!” He turned and ran off towards the group as Sans watched him go worriedly.

“Oof, what a monster to pick.” One of Sans’ friends said, leaning around him to watch Papyrus butt his way into the group. “She’s gonna wipe the floor with him.”

“She better not.” Sans frowned and turned to get a little closer to keep an eye on him if anything happened.

Papyrus pushed his way into the crowd of kids as Undyne continued dividing them into groups. “Addax you’re a thief, Cesky you’re a guard with me, and Pike you’re a thief. This crate is the guard outpost, the thief hideout is behind the school. Ya get a 10 second head start! GO!” The ‘thieves’ ran off and Undyne jumped off the crate.

“WHAT ABOUT ME?”

Undyne blinked and looked down at the little skeleton, snorting a laugh. “Uh, you’re kinda little to be playing guards ‘n thieves don’t ya think?”

“WHAT? NO. I WANNA BE A GUARD TOO! I CAN PLAY!” Papyrus clenched his fists and stood his ground, but Undyne just rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, whatever. Just don’t get in the way alright? And keep up!”

“OKAY!”

Sans didn’t know what his friends were talking about behind him, much too focused on watching his little brother try and keep up with the older kids. It wasn’t until one of them nudged him that he looked over.

“C’mon, he’ll be fine. Lets go get some candy.”

“Eh, thanks, but I think I’m gonna stay here. Just to make sure they don’t push him around or anything.” Sans said.

“Fine, your loss.” The bird monster shrugged and turned to leave with the rest of them.

Sans watched through the afternoon as Papyrus struggled to keep up with the older kids while they ran around, but thankfully nothing bad happened. The worst of it was they mostly ignored him, but… he looked like he was having fun at least, so he didn’t get involved. When they all decided they were finished playing and went their own ways, Papyrus waved to them even though none of them had given him much thought, and looked a little surprised to see Sans sat in the shade of the school house watching him.

“THAT WAS SO FUN!” He grinned, dress covered in dirt and bones tinted red from the ground.

Sans tried to look happy for him. “Yeah? Well, lets go get a snack and then head home okay? They’ll be here tomorrow.”

“OKAY!” Papyrus grabbed his brother’s hand as they walked away from the school and towards the store for a small detour before making the rest of their way back home.

… When the bell over their doorway jingled Gaster turned to see who it was, grinning at the sight of the boys. 

One of them covered in dirt.

His smile faded a little, and he wondered if he was going to have to challenge some 12 year old to a standoff.

“So…? How was it?”

“IT WAS SO FUN!” Papyrus jumped in place and ran over to Gaster, who breathed a sigh of relief.

He sat and listened to Papyrus go on and on about what he learned and how Ms. Farfig seemed surprised at how much they knew and then meeting Undyne and playing guards and thieves and how she was so cool and--

“Take a breath, kiddo.” Gaster pat his head and looked over at Sans. “How about you?”

Sans just shrugged, “It was alright.”

“You don’t  _ have _ to go if you don’t want to y’know.” Gaster said.

“Nah I wanna go, just kinda know most of the stuff she teaches already.”

“Hah,” Gaster sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin smugly. “Turns out being a huge know-it-all is a good thing.”

“Now you go wash up,” he shooed Papyrus away. “Daisy is cleaner ‘n you and she’s a horse. I’ll get supper started.”

The boys washed up as Gaster put his things away and started on dinner. Gaster was never the best cook, but he could get by, and having two hungry mouths to feed was a pretty good motivator to get better at it. He could afford to slack off and not care when he was on his own, but not anymore.

They were just finishing up when there was a knock on the door. Gaster turned and waited to see who would come in, but when no one did, he gave the kids a gesture to stay put and went to check it out himself.

Ms. Farfig stood on the other side.

“So,” Gaster crossed his arms and leaned on the doorframe. “What’d they do?”

Farfig looked confused, then blinked and laughed. “Oh! No, no. Your boys were fantastic today. I’m not here to complain or make a fuss.”

“Oh,” Gaster blinked and then stood up straighter once he realized his kids weren’t in trouble. “What can I do for ya then?”

“Well…” Farfig held up the basket she was carrying and uncovered the top. Inside was a pie, still warm. “I just wanted to give you this.”

“Oh,” he said again dumbly and took the basket. “Thank you… but what for?”

“I know I’ve given you a little bit of a hard time over the years for not enrolling Sans into class, but I hadn’t really thought that you’d been teachin’ them yourself all this time. They’re both very bright. I suppose it’s to be expected given you’re a doctor and all.”

Gaster was very glad he couldn’t blush, but he probably looked pretty embarrassed all the same. “Oh. Well. Y’know.”

He didn’t know what to say. He felt like an idiot despite current conversation saying otherwise. He settled for sort of just… shrugging, as if that was enough.

“I look forward to them coming back. I hope you like the pie.” Farfig smiled and turned to leave. “Have a lovely night!”

Gaster blinked and waved as she left. “Y-You too.”

He closed the door and nearly jumped when he realized Sans and Papyrus were right behind him.

“Smooth,” Sans smirked.

Papyrus giggled.

Gaster glared, “Shut up. You want pie or not?”

Sans made a motion as though he was pinching his mouth closed, and Papyrus tried to stifle his giggling with his hands.

The pie was delicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get out, I kinda had a lot of difficulty with it along with not having much time. These middle chapters will definitely be the hardest to write for me since they aren't as set in stone as the beginning and end, but I hope you like them regardless!
> 
> Also happy 5th birthday, Undertale! :)


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